Beyond the Veil
by This is not a FanFiction
Summary: After being banished from Konoha, Naruto travels for a year before ending up in Suna, welcomed by Gaara with open arms. During an experiment with a seal, both Gaara and Naruto find themselves waking up in a world parallel to their own with both Shukaku and Kurama in tow. While hoping to find a way back, both demons ask the teens to help the Aang find the path of the Avatar again.
1. Beyond the Veil

A/N: Another story out in the works. I probably should update my existing ones, but I can't seem to focus on them very well. I'm working on them, of course, but I only get a few hundred words in by the end of the day, and I will _never _post anything that has less than 2k words. So, I'm working on them, sorry to all you readers who are waiting for them to be updated, I'm trying to get them up, honestly! Anyway, here is a new story for you all to enjoy. Don't own, partially AU….yeah...Just go with it.

Key:

"Regular speech"  
_"ANBU Signing"_  
**"Demon talking"**  
**_"Demon projected thoughts"_**

* * *

Sixteen year-old Naruto Uzumaki-Namikaze was frozen in shock. He had finally succeeded; he had brought Sasuke back to Konoha. Instead of being thanked by his friends, and regain that peace that was lost so long ago, Naruto stood flabbergasted as the council exiled him.

Exiled.

Never to return to his home again.

He couldn't understand it. He had done everything they had asked, and _this_ was what he was rewarded with. Tsunade-obaa tried her best to stop the banishment from going through, but the Council had the Daimyo's signed order to banish the blonde from the Village.

There was nothing she could do, and Naruto understood.

His friends, even Sakura were all angered by the news. None of them could believe that this was being allowed to happen, especially after everything he had done during Pein's invasion. Shikamaru had suggested Naruto display his Rinnengan, given to him by Pein himself at the end of their battle, just so that he could claim Clan protection and be allowed to stay in the Village, but Naruto wouldn't simply because if they could not accept him after all he had done since he graduated the Academy, then they never would. There was simply nothing more he could do to change the minds of close-minded people.

His friends had done their best to give him everything they possibly could for his life outside the village, promises to change the Village for the better, and once they were in power, bring him home. Naruto simply smiled at his friends when he heard that, happy he had found precious people who truly cared and loved him. He wouldn't turn against the Village for their idiocy; as much as he was heartbroken and angered over his banishment, he still believed it to be home, and he would never do anything to cause harm to it.

Naruto was to be banished out of the Village the day following the order, given time to take all of his possessions. His friends had gifted him with enough money to last some time, though he never did admit to anyone that the moment he had discovered his biological parents identities, he had gone to the Namikaze Manor and reclaimed all that was rightfully his. All the money his parents had left behind, all their scrolls, and all their weapons were sealed away on his person, hidden in plain sight inside the harmless looking tattoos that were painted over his body in the most beautiful way.

When the morning of his banishment had come, Naruto left with little fanfare. He had been escorted by ANBU early in the morning, the group seemed sympathetic to his plight and wished him well travels and good health.

With one last sorrowful glance at his home, Naruto left in a yellow flash to a seal he had placed outside of Inari's house in Wave, unknowingly shocking the group of ANBU that stared wide-eyed at the sight of the Yondaime's infamous jutsu.

* * *

After a year of traveling, Naruto had made a name for himself: The Fox Sage. With help from Kurama, Naruto had mastered Biju mode to perfection. His body could withstand the full brunt of Kurama's nine-tails for over an hour without seriously harming his body; an accomplishment like none before. The year had brought many changes in Naruto. No longer was he the naïve bright idiot he once was; the year had shown him the true atrocities of the world and it had hardened him. He became slightly colder, more calculated, and far stronger than he ever thought he could be before.

He had also changed physically. Being the runt of his entire generation, Naruto never really thought he would get very tall, even with all his exercise and eating habits, but nature proved him wrong. After the year had passed, Naruto stood at 6 feet tall with a leanly built body built for speed. He had allowed his hair to grow some, the style making him look like a younger and leaner Minato Namikaze with whiskered cheeks. He had also taken on to dressing more appropriately, nearly erasing orange from his attire all together. The only orange that was found on him was the deep orange sash that held his blade, _Fox Fang_. A beautiful sword that was made of the strongest and rarest of metals; one that could channel Kurama's chakra perfectly.

Kurama was both elated and downtrodden about the changes in her vessel. While she was glad Naruto was taking everything more seriously, she missed the innocence he once held closely to his heart. Sure, he still smiled and brought happiness to those on their worst of days, but it simply wasn't the same as it once was before. And she would forever blame Konoha for what they had done to her kit.

In their eleventh month of banishment, Naruto had taken sanctuary in Suna, welcomed with open arms by his friend, Gaara, the Kazekage. When word of Naruto's banishment became public knowledge, Suna and many other villages such as Wave had cut off all contact with Konoha, despising them for their actions against Naruto. Naruto had tried to stop them from doing so, but in the end there was nothing he could say or do that would change their minds. In the end, he supposed Konoha would simply have to suffer with fewer jobs to do, and work harder to maintain their economy. As a banished shinobi, there was little Naruto could do for his old home, at least little he could do publicly, and Naruto was never one to work in the shadows.

During his time in Suna, Naruto and Gaara had both drabbled in more complex fuuinjutsu, trying everything they could in order to discover new abilities of the vague art. Gaara had discovered that he had a rather natural talent in sealing, and with Naruto's help, became a very adept in the art of sealing in only a few months.

Of course, neither thought that after five months of experimenting, that they would blotch a seal so badly that both were knocked out by the resulting explosion and ended up waking in the middle of a desert.

"Aaahhhh, my head…." Naruto mumbled, spitting out sand that had managed it's way into his mouth.

"What have you done now, Naruto?" Gaara muttered, groaning a bit as he managed to pick himself off the sandy ground.

"I didn't do anything!" Naruto defended himself vehemently, "I didn't even push any chakra through the seal. It _shouldn't_ have activated."

"Hnn, so how do you explain finding ourselves out in the middle of the Suna Desert?" Gaara asked in a dry tone.

"**Both of you, quiet. My head hurts enough without you both bickering!"** a booming voice shocked both Naruto and Gaara into turning around. What they saw shocked both of them to the very core. Right in front of them was none other than a slightly smaller Kurama. She stood roughly at eight feet in height, her nine tails swishing lazily behind her laid down body.

"Ku-Kurama?" Naruto practically yelled in his shock.

"**Yes, now quiet. I have a splitting headache."**

"Bu-B- But how can you be out of the seal!?"

"**The same way I can be here, Namikaze."** Said another booming voice, though this one lower and far more dangerous sounding. Both Naruto and Gaara turned at the sound, and both saw none other than Shukaku raising from the sand itself, shaking the excess from his body.

"How are you here, Shukaku?" Gaara asked utterly bewildered at the sight the one-tailed demon. He had been taken from his body by the Akatsuki, trapped in that statue in hopes of reforming the Jubi, for him to be here was impossible. Even though clearly it wasn't, lest both Naruto's and Gaara's minds were playing a trick on them.

"**We are here because you need us you foolish kits." **Kurama piped in, her headache subsiding a little.

"Okay, but that doesn't explain _why_ we need you…." Naruto said still trying to figure everything out.

"**To put it simply, you idiotic human," **Shukaku said, **"That seal you were messing with, reacted badly to the demonic chakra both of you emit unconsciously. In turn, it activated sending you here, to this desert."**

"**This is not the desert that surrounds Suna." **Kurama continued before either young men had a chance to say anything, **"The seal you were experimenting with was a time/space seal, one that broke through the fabric space and brought all of us to another dimension entirely."**

"WHAAT?!" Naruto screamed while Gaara's eyes were threatening to pop out of his head.

"**Fear not little humans, this is not an unusual occurrence. We demons, and summons, dimension hop all the time." **Shukaku said nonchalantly.

"Then you can get us home, right?" Gaara asked, calming down some at the news his once sealed demon said.

"**Wrong."**

"What do you mean, Kurama?" Naruto asked, dreading the answer.

"**We cannot bring others with us when we dimension hop, meaning while **_**we**_** can return to the Elemental Nations, we cannot bring you. Not even if we swallowed you whole and hopped." **

"**The only way you can go back is if you retry the seal you created." **Shukaku said, scratching his ear with his hind paw.

"Damnit!" Naruto groaned, "We worked for _months_ on that seal! I don't even have our notes on it!"

"Nor do I. We will have to start again from scratch." Gaara said, inwardly cursing at their situation. He was Kazekage, he had responsibilities he simply _couldn't_ leave unattended. With a sigh, he hoped that in his absence, Temari would take over; she was the only one he truly trusted with his job.

"Can either of you go back and bring us the essentials?" Gaara asked curiously.

"**Yes, that is possible. So long as it is not **_**alive**_** we can bring anything back and forth. I will do so, and inform the others of your situation as well as bring back your notes on the seal you used." **Kurama said with a small nod of her head.

"Thanks, Kurama." Naruto said to his long-time companion.

"**No problem, Naruto. I'll ask Temari to pack your essentials Gaara. I'm sure you will want your jar of sand. I'm sure you have everything you need sealed in yourself, right Naruto?"**

Naruto nodded while Gaara said, "Yes, you have my sincere thanks, Kurama."

"**Shukaku, get them out of the desert, I'll be back soon." **The nine-tailed fox said before poofing from existence.

"**Alright, cubs. Get on and I'll get us to a village or something. There you can pilfer yourselves some money from the locals." **Shukaku said with a slight growl. He did _not_ want to play 'horse' for these brats, but would do so anyway since he certainly didn't want them to die out here.

"Thanks, Shukaku." Naruto said before getting on the back of the large raccoon-dog.

"This is appreciated, Shukaku." Gaara said getting on behind Naruto.

"**Whatever, cubs. Hold on, I want to get there quickly."**

With a small roar, Shukau burst with unparalleled speed, the wind whipping around both Naruto and Gaara before Naruto thought to manipulate the wind enough for it to not harm them in anyway, and allow them to breathe normally. In no time at all, the trio found themselves on the outskirts of an oasis, small hardly anything anyone would want to live in, but an oasis nonetheless.

Getting off of Shukaku, both Naruto and Gaara watched with slight amusement as the proud beast shrunk itself to a smaller size, becoming no larger than a medium sized dog.

"**It will be easier for us to move without catching peoples attention if my body is this size." **The ichibi said with a growl, clearly none to happy with this fact.

Once both the teens caught sight of the natives, both performed a light henge over their clothes to give them the illusion they were dressed the same as many others. No need to attract unwanted attention simply because they dress differently after all. Each pulled their hoods over their head, causing a shadow to come over their faces and keep themselves anonymous until they could find a place to stay and drive themselves into their research and figure a way back home.

It was almost too easy to pit-pocket a fair amount of coin from the locals. Both Naruto and Gaara had chosen to target those who looked considerably wealthier than others, so that they wouldn't hinder someone's ability to eat well that evening. They both had caught onto a rather unusual sight in the middle of an oasis. It looked to be ice erupting from the surface of the ground.

"That is an unusual sight." Gaara muttered as he stared at the small mound.

"Indeed…" Naruto replied before they moved to go inside the local pub. It reeked of sweat and blood, and didn't suit well to the trios senses at all.

"Let's get something to drink or eat at least." Naruto suggested, moving over to the bar counter where he asked the man to make three drinks, knowing all to well Shukaku would steal his if he didn't buy one for him.

"Comin' righ'up." The man said before creatively mixing the drinks with his swords.

"Thanks." Naruto muttered as soon as the drinks were served.

Looking around, it seemed that every single person in the pub was after your last coin. They all looked to be utterly desperate and reeked of common thugs.

"_We should learn more of where we are."_ Gaara signed to his friend in the Suna ANBU code.

"_Shukaku, ever been in this dimension before?" _Naruto asked their resident raccoon-dog.

"_**We are in a parallel dimension of your own." **_He began, _**"It called the Elemental Nations as well, though the lands are separated into only four main elements: Fire, Water, Earth, and Air. Right now, I believe they are still fighting the war between the Fire Nation and the rest of the world."**_

"_A war against the Fire Nation? Would that be equivalent to the Land of Fire?" _Naruto asked, truly curious.

"_**I suppose in some ways. As of right now, however, it is the strongest and most hated of all the lands. I'm unsure of how many years ago it was, but some time ago, the Fire Lord Sozin began a war with the rest of the world, trying to unify the entire lands under his sole rule. Of course the other lands fought back, all hoping for the Avatar to save them."**_

"_What is the Avatar?" _Gaara asked.

"_**Ah, right, you cubs no nothing. Let me explain the basics of this world then." **_Shukaku began, _**"Here the lands are divided into four Nations: the North and Southern Water Tribes, The Air Temples, The Earth Kingdom, and the Fire Nation. Here, rather than molding chakra through their bodies like you both can, they bend the elements. The Water Tribes were built upon those who learned from the moon to push and pull the water to their will, becoming water benders. The Earth Kingdom was formed through earth benders who learned from the first earth benders, the badger moles. It is said the Fire Nation learned fire bending from the first creators of fire, the Dragons, though why the Dragons bothered is beyond me. They were always the snide proud type. The Air Nomads learned from Sky Bisons, and created Temples which could only be reached with air bending or by sky bison.**_

"_**The Avatar is a single individual who can bend all four elements to their will. How they came to be is beyond me, though I wouldn't doubt that Kami had something to do with it. They are the 'Protector' of peace and balance in this world and when the Avatar dies, he or she is born into the next cycle of the elements. So say the first Avatar was a natural born fire bender, when he/she dies, they are reborn into the body of an Air Nomad. I believe they are found through old toys which only the Avatar would recognize and choose immediately or something equally ridiculous."**_

"_So the Avatar is the keeper of peace and balance? So then he or she would have stopped the war, right?" _Naruto commented, remembering everything Shukaku had said with clarity.

"_**No, last I came here was about thirty years ago, and the war was still continuing."**_

"_That was thirty years ago, I would hope they ended the war by now." _Naruto said with a slight grimace. Wars were never a pretty sight, and for it to go on for more than a few years would be one drowned in blood.

At that moment, Naruto and Gaara caught sight of their now one-tailed companion who was wearing a shit-eating grin on her face that made the thugs look at her warily.

"Looks like you made it back alright, Kurama." Naruto said with a smile, picking up the now shrunken down fox in his arms. Around her neck was a scroll fastened to a ribbon.

"Guessing this is your stuff, Gaara." The blonde said to his friend while handing him the closed scroll.

"Yes, I believe it is." He said taking the scroll from his friend's hand. "My thanks again, Kurama."

"Well, we need to find a place to stay, and I'm sorry Gaara, but I'm not staying in _this_ desert."

"I do not wish to linger here any longer either." The red haired teen said, slightly grimacing at the other people in the bar. He'd rather not be around so much filth. No honor, or code bound people, merely thugs of the lowest order, and the poor civilians who cannot do anything to change the situation they'd been dealt with.

"We need to get a hold of a map." Naruto said. "I'm willing to bet better parts of the Earth Kingdom would be a better place to stay than this place."

"Yes, I agree. Now, to find a map." Gaara turned to the bar keep, "Would you by any chance carry a map with you?" he asked politely.

The man turned to face the pair and said, "Sorry boys, got no maps to show or sell ya. Try that traveler ov'r there. 'E seems ta be headed out ta the desert a'gin. 'Otta have some kind a map for ya ta see, 'm sure."

"Thank you." Gaara replied, both Naruto and he looking to the man that the barkeep had pointed to. He was a well-dressed man, clothed with finer cloth than nearly all of the natives around him. From the books he carried, he seemed to be a scholar of some kind.

With a nod to each other, both Naruto and Gaara made their way over to the man.

"Excuse us, sir?" Naruto began politely, Kurama spread across his shoulders lazily while Shukaku trotted closely next to Gaara.

The scholar turned to the two of them, slightly surprised to be addressed. Instantly the man brightened up for some reason and rushed forward toward Naruto, his hands out already touching a confused Kurama.

"Amazing! A fire-fox! I thought them all to be extinct! Tell me, are you by any chance one of Wan Shi Tong's foxy knowledge seekers?"

"Uhh, no, she's just my partner, Kurama." Naruto said still slightly confused.

"Ooh splendid! Still, a fire-fox! Tell me, what does she prefer to eat?" he asked enthusiastically.

"Erm…meat?" the blonde replied unsure while Kurama snapped at the man's hands. She did not appreciate being manhandled thank you very much!

"Fascinating, that is one for the journal." He muttered to himself before turning to introduce himself, "Forgive me, I am Professor Zei, Head of Anthropology at Ba Sing Sei University."

"A pleasure to meet you, Professor. My name is Naruto Uzumaki-Namikaze, and this is my partner, Kurama as you well know."

"I am Subaku no Gaara, and this is my partner, Shukaku, a raccoon-dog."

"Fascinating! Truly! I have yet to encounter a raccoon-dog before!" the four in front of the man mentally sweat-dropped.

"Yes, fascinating…" Naruto mumbled to himself. "We were wondering, Professor, if you had a map we could see?"

"Certainly!" he said walking over to a cleared table and laying out a map of what both teens guessed to be the desert. Before they could say anything, another voice piped in.

"You have a map?" The trio turned to see a young boy drabbed in a blue outfit, his looking to be naturally dark. Behind him were three others, two girls and a young boy. The older looking girl seemed to be the dark-skinned boy's sister as they shared many physical similarities. The other girl reminded both Naruto and Gaara of a Hyuuga, her dark black hair and seemingly unseeing eyes (though in this case they were fairly certain she was _actually_ blind). The last boy gave both teens a slight shiver. They could _feel_ the raw untouched power inside the boy. He was bald and wore an orange and yellow outfit, his skin covered in blue arrow tattoos.

"_**The Avatar…" **_Kurama's voice said in both the boy's minds. Naruto looked closer at the tattooed boy. If he was the Avatar, he must be on important business so far out in the desert.

"Yes, I do!" Professor Zei said happily.

"Only the desert?" the boy exclaimed unhappily, "Doesn't _anyone_ have a good map of the Fire Nation!?"

Both Gaara and Naruto remained quiet as the group began to talk to the Professor as they wanted to gain as much information on the current situation of the world.

The dark-skinned girl scanned the map with a keen eye and commented, "You've made a lot of trips into the desert."

"Yes, I have discovered many ruins in the Earth Kingdom, but have yet to discover the Library of Wan Shi Tong." He said with passion in his voice, "Ah, forgive me, I am Professor Zei, head of Anthropology at Ba Sing Sei University." The man said with a slight bow.

"I'm Katara, the one over there is my brother, Sokka, this is Aang," she said pointing to the bald boy, "and this is Toph."

"Splendid to meet you all! This here is Naruto Uzumaki-Namikaze, and Subaku no Gaara." The man politely introduced the pair that had remained silent during their exchange.

Katara had a slight blush when she finally noticed the two tall teenagers who had removed their hoods soon after being introduced. Both were beyond good-looking and their hair color was so rare to see, it was beautiful on them.

"A pleasure to meet you all." Naruto said with the same bow the Professor had given.

"Indeed." Gaara said in a low voice, looking all but interested in what was going on.

"Excuse me, Professor, would this library have a proper map of the Fire Nation?" Sokka said, not really caring for the local looking teenagers in front of him.

"I am unsure, but if such a map exists, the Library would undoubtedly hold such knowledge."

"Aang, I know where I want to spend my vacation." Sokka said, "At, the LIBRARY!"

Both Gaara and Naruto stood a bit surprised at the exclamation. The Avatar was on _vacation_? Did an Avatar _take_ vacations? No, they couldn't could they? After all, being an Avatar, like being a Kage, as a fulltime job with little to no breaks. Ever. Perhaps it was because he was young? No, that couldn't be it either. He should be training to master the elements…right?

"_**The Avatar should not be squandering his time like so." **_Shukaku growled in their minds.

"_**No, he shouldn't. And the boy, Sokka, kept asking for a Fire Nation map. I believe the War may be ongoing."**_

"_**Naruto, Gaara, follow the Avatar. We are considered spirits in this dimension, and it is out obligation to help the Avatar should he lose his way. Which he seems to have done."**_

Both Naruto and Gaara nod slightly, before Gaara turns to the professor. "This Library would also have a current map of the world, correct?"

"Certainly! Wan Shi Tong's library is home to priceless knowledge of all kinds!"

"Would it be terribly rude to ask if we could join you on your next expedition out into the desert? I would be honored to help you search for such a wonder of the world." Naruto said to the scholar.

"Yes, I would be most grateful. Thank you both." He said, "But we will have to plan this carefully. I have made many expeditions out into the desert and nearly died every time."

"Professor, would you like to meet our Flying Bison?" Sokka added in slyly.

"A flying bison!? You actually have one?!" the Professor looked as though someone discovered the meaning of life he was so excited.

When the group walked outside, the Professor had to scare away some of the sand-benders that were eyeing the large fluffy beast with greed. Both Naruto and Gaara were a bit impressed with the sky bison. After all, it wasn't every time you met a creature that defied the very basic law of physics everyday. Both Kurama and Shukaku ran up to greet the bison, as well as the flying monkey looking creature that rested on it's head.

"Looks like Appa and Momo are making friends." Aang said with a wide smile.

"So it seems." Naruto commented, wondering what Kurama wanted to talk to the bison about.

"So, why do you two want to find the library? Are you trying to find information on the Fire Nation too?" Aang asked, while both teens noticed Sokka, Katara, and Toph listening intently on the answer.

"We want to find an updated map so that we may find a proper place to live. Right now, we have no where to go." Naruto said truthfully. He just had an itching feeling that Toph would be able to know if he lied or not. Maybe it was because she seemed to be able to move around without bumping into anything even though she was blind.

"Did the Fire Nation take away your home?" Katara asked in a sympathetic voice. Both dimension-hoppers could see that the young girl had lost someone, or someones, very dear to her by the Fire Nations hands.

"No," Gaara said, "It was our own idiocy that left us without any place to go." Gaara answered the young girl. It seemed he too had picked up on Naruto's suspicion.

"Well?" Toph piped in impatiently, "Let's get going already!"

"Yes! Let us set off!" Professor Zei exclaimed happily, mounting the large six-legged bison with Aangs help.

When everyone but Naruto and Gaara had mounted the bison, Aang asked, "Do you guys need help getting on?"

With a small smirk, Naruto jumped onto the saddle with practiced grace, Gaara making a sand staircase without moving his hands in any way to help him get up with ease.

"How...How did you _do _that!?" Katara exclaimed wide-eyed that Naruto had just jumped more than six feet into the air. "And how did you bend without moving your hands?!"

"Are you an air bender?" Aang asked with a hopeful gleam in his big doe-like eyes. Naruto could see pain laced in the bright orbs, and didn't quite understand why that was so.

"I..." he began, stopped when Kurama spoke in his mind.

**_"Tell the kit you are, we both know you are adept at seal-less wind__ jutsu's.__"_**

"I have a bit skill in it. Without a proper teacher, I am unable to do much that I've heard about." he said. "I normally don't reveal this, for obvious reasons."

"The Fire Nation would kill you if they knew." Sokka said, loosing all his suspicion of Naruto.

Nodding silently, Naruto closed his eyes, listening to the information Kurama was feeding to both Gaara and himself. Apparently, when the war began, the Fire Nation set out and killed every single Air Nomad they could find in hopes of finding he Avatar. They never did, of course, as it seemed he was in some sort of stasis.

"How did you bend the sand without moving, Gaara?" Katara asked again, truly curious.

Turning slightly toward the blue-eyed girl, Gaara replied, "It is merely something I have always been able to do."

"Bet I could beat your sand bending butt." Toph said with a smirk on her face. Naruto chuckled a bit at her proclamation, remembering just how powerful Gaara truly was. He _is_ Kaze_kage_ after all.

"Perhaps we shall have to test that one day, earth bender." Gaara said with a smirk mirroring the girls. He did ever so like a challenge.

* * *

Time had slowly passed as the entire group flew across the desert, actively searching for any sign of the large library. It was clear to see that the heat and the dull quiet air around them as getting on everyone's nerves. Naruto had resorted to meditating in order to keep from dying of boredome, and Gaara had turned to practicing his "sand bending" in order to keep himself occupied though both were extending their senses for some kind of building.

"There it is!" Toph exclaimed, eliciting excited faces from her companions while causing both Naruto and Gaara to grin, slightly amused. When her friends realized that there was nothing out in the direction she was pointing in, Toph continued, "That's what it'll sound like when one of you sees it." while reminding them that she was completely blind by waving her hand in front of her face.

They remained silent for a while longer until Sokka called out to land somewhere he had seen something. When they landed, the stood in front of a tall tower of some sort, though Gaara and Naruto could feel that this was what they were looking for.

_**"There is a spirit here...I can't believe Wan Shi Tong never left."**_Kurama said sounding a bit surprised.

_**"That old bird would rather live with books than actual talking people. He was never good with socializing."**_Shukaku added dryly, enjoying the suns strong rays glaring down at the group.

"This can't be the library." Katara began, "The structure in this diagram is huge." Just as they were going to leave, the group spotted a brown desert fox carrying a scroll in it's mouth, staring at the group before climbing up the wall and losing their gaze when it disappeared through the small window.

"That was a knowledge seeker!" Professor Zei exclaimed excitedly. "The entire Library buried beneath the sand! Oh well, time for excavating!" he finished, taking out a small hand shovel and began digging.

Toph took pity on the guy and pressed her hand against the stone of the tower. "Actually, that won't be necessary. The Library seems to be intact on the inside, and it's huge!"

"I say we climb up and check it out." Sokka said, already preparing his boomerang with a long piece of rope.

"You guys go on ahead." Toph said, "I'll stay outside with Appa."

"You have something against Library's?" Katara said a bit chidingly. Naruto couldn't help but think how stupid that question was, and by the frown on Gaara's face, he seemed to share his sentiments.

"I've held books before." Toph said duly, "Gotta say I don't see the appeal."

At that, Katara looked sheepish and apologetic, "Oh, right..."

"I do not believe Shukaku would enjoy being underground." Gaara said, "Would you watch after him?" The true statement of _'Watch after her and the bison' _was left unsaid but understood by Shukaku, Naruto, and Kurama.

"Sure thing, sandy." Toph replied with a smirk.

"Well then, let us head into the Library!" Professor Zei exclaimed happily. For some reason, both Naruto and Gaara had a feeling of dread come over them. Something was just bound to go wrong while inside...


	2. The Library

A/N: Here is the next chapter~ I'm actually rather surprised at the response! To be honest I wasn't really thinking anything through much when I was writing the first chapter; it was more of whatever came to mind. Ah, random inspiration is the best~ Anyway, here you all are, and thank you!

Key:

"Regular speech"  
_"ANBU Signing"_  
**"Demon talking"**  
**_"Demon projected thoughts"_**

* * *

Chapter 2: The Library

As soon as Sokka had thrown his boomerang to act as a grappling hook onto the tall tower, the group consisting of Aang, Katara, Sokka, Gaara, and Naruto, began to make their climb to the window. Both Naruto and Gaara held back until the group finished climbing and made it through the small window before they wall-walked the tower. They knew that while it appeared they were both benders, their other talents should remain hidden. For a while longer, at least.

"Wow~" Naruto said as he caught sight of the interior. From wall to wall, everywhere you looked there were shelves and shelves of books and scrolls. Nothing in the Elemental Nations could even hold a candle to the amount of texts this library had.

_**"It seems our little bird's become a horder..."** _Kurama thought to both Gaara and Naruto once she caught sight of the collection. Naruto stifled a snicker while Gaara wore an amused grin, both thankful that the rest of the group was so awestruck with the sight of the Library to notice.

"Amazing!" Professor Zei exclaimed, looking as though he were to pass out from the sheer sight.

Once they reached the bottom, Naruto, Gaara, and Kurama all knew that Wan Shi Tong was watching them. It was, to put it simply, creepy.

_"You weren't joking when you said he was not social..."_ Naruto muttered lightly through their shared telepathic link.

_**"You'll see just how good he is with people...humans and spirits**** alike."**_ Kurama said.

Before another thought could be heard, there was a light flapping of wings that silenced the group. Sokka took the initiative and pushed everyone to hide behind the pillars that were at the end of the small bridge they landed on, his hand grasping his boomerang tightly while everyone else stood stock still, barely moving to even breathe.

Gaara, and Naruto both knew that regardless of _where _they hid, the owl would find them.

It took only a few seconds before the great Spirit Wan Shi Tong examined the dangling rope before turning his head and calling out in a rumbling voice that echoed around the Library.

"I know you're back there."

The younger children looked rather startled that the large owl knew they were there, but Gaara, Naruto, and Kurama remained unperturbed.

"Hello!" the Professor announced, walking out from behind the column and toward the large black and white owl. "I am Professor Zei, Head of Anthropology at Ba Sing Sei University." he finished with a formal bow before the grand spirit. Kurama was crackling like mad in the shinobi's train of thought. She could practically _see_ the old birds head swelling with his ego.

"You should leave the way you came." he continued, ignoring the mans introduction. "Unless you want to become a stuffed head of Anthropology." Both Gaara and Naruto slightly rolled their eyes. This intimidation tactic was old and neither were affected. Though it did seem to have an effect on the Professor. Once the three children deemed it safe to come out, Sokka called out,

"Are you the Spirit who brought this library to the physical world?"

"Indeed. I am Wan Shi Tong. He who knows ten thousand things, and you are obviously human. Which, by the way, are no longer allowed to remain in my study."

_**"Yes, oh great 'He who knows Ten Thousand Things'."** _Kurama breathed out sarcastically directly into the Owls mind. The spirit looked a bit shocked at the fact that Kurama stood before him. She was after all the greatest of the Tailed Spirits, and far more powerful than he in every physical way.

**_"I see you have decided to return. I suspect your siblings as well?" _**Wan Shi Tong said as he looked down at the humans before him with dark reflective eyes.

"What do you have against humans?" Aang asked, breaking their conversation for the moment, though Kurama merely nodded in reply.

"Humph." the Owl huffed, "Humans only bother learning things to gain an edge on other humans. Like that fire bender who came to this place a few years ago. Looking for information to destroy his enemy." he paused for what the three dimension hoppers knew was dramatic effect and continued, bending over to look at Sokka directly in the eyes. "So, who are _you_ trying to destroy."

**_"Fire Nation, but you already know that, don't you, oh Mr. Knowledgeable."_**Kurama said with a small yip.

"Whaat?" Sokka squeaked out pathetically. "No, no, no destroying. We're not into that."

"Then Why have you come here?" the Spirit pressed for sheer enjoyment out of watching the boy squirm.

"Ummmm...knowledge for knowledge's sake?" He answered equally pathetically. Naruto raised an eyebrow at how poorly the boy lied, and to a Spirit of Knowledge no less. Gaara remained impassive, watching as the Spirit forced Sokka to slightly squirm under his gaze and pressing questions.

"If you are going to lie to an all knowing spirit being, you should at least put in a little more effort into it." the owl said dryly.

"I'm not lying! I'm here with the Avatar! He's the bridge between our worlds, he'll vouch for me!" Sokka said pushing Aang in front of him and straight in front of the spirit owl. When Aang simply stood there silent in front of him, Sokka pressed his elbow into his back, cauging Aang to slightly groan in pain.

"Uuhhh, yeah, I'll vouch." he said a bit unsure. "I promise we will not abuse the knowledge in your library. You have my word." the young Avatar finished, everyone, including the two shinobi, bowed in assurance.

The owl, as well as the dimension hoppers, knew that Sokka would not keep to this agreement, but for now, the owl said. "Very well. I will allow you to stay in my library. However, as a condition, you are to present to me an item of knowledge to add to this library, proving yourselves to be scholars." Gaara had nothing to offer in means of knowledge, but Naruto merely signed to him in ANBU code that he would take care of it. After all, the tattoos on his body weren't just to look pretty.

Professor Zei was the first to walk up to the Spirit and presented him with a large bound book. "I present to you this tome of my research." he said.

"First Edition. Very nice." Wan Shi Tong said swiping the tome from his hands with a swift movement of his wing.

Katara walked up next, a small smile on her face. "I have this authentic water-bending scroll." she said presenting an old looking scroll.

"Ohh, the illustrations on this scroll are quite exquisite." he commented before swiping the scroll from her hands.

Aang looked to be thinking really hard, trying to find something in his possession that he could present to the spirit. Like a light bulb being turned on suddenly, Aang presented the Spirit with his "Wanted" poster with a "tadaa!" type grin.

The old Owl looked down on the scroll with a dry look and said, "I suppose this will do."

Sokka, it seemed, had nothing to offer him from the look of his empty bag, but with little fanfare, Sokka walked up to the owl and said, "Oh great spirit, behold!" he held out an intricate looking knot and Naruto couldn't help but cough in hopes of stifling a laugh. Of all things...a knot.

Wan Shi Tong seemed to have an even blander look on his face because Sokka continued. "This is knowledge!" he said with a hopeful grin.

The old spirit merely looked at him and said with a small sigh, "You're not very smart, are you." before taking the knot and looked to Naruto and Gaara.

Naruto and Gaara walked up together. "We present to you, Wan Shi Tong, He who knows Ten Thousand Things, a storage scroll. Filled within it are copies of our research on Fuuinjutsu, as well as Ninjutsu of our design."

"The Ways of Old." the Spirit said. "You are from there, then, I assume?" he asked, being vague as they hoped he would in front of others.

"We are." Gaara answered honestly.

**_"The Avatar and his companions are not to__ know."_ **Kurama said to the Owl directly.

"I thank you for this great addition to that sector. You are all free to move about, enjoy the Library." he said before turning and disappearing into the shadows.

"Umm, Naruto, Gaara? What did he mean, 'Ways of Old'? And where are you from?" Katara asked wanting to know answers to the questions she had after hearing the conversation the two had with the Ancient Spirit.

"The Ways of Old, I assume, are teaching methods long since forgotten. It was passed down to us by our teachers, though I doubt any others here would know of what we speak." Gaara said answering part of her question honestly.

"As to where we come from. Let's just say we are a long way from home and it is a place not easily found, nor one to return to under the circumstances we are currently in." Naruto pitched in.

While not completely satisfied with their answer, Katara and the rest of the group accepted it and chose to move on. Gaara and Naruto wanted to visit other parts of the Library, knowing that the group would simply do something that would get them evicted from the Library. They moved to the sector of the Library which had tomes and scrolls of the "Ways of Old," both hoping to find something that would help them get back home quicker.

Once they were out of the Avatar, and friends, hearing range, the Owl stalked out of the shadows and walked toward the two dimension hoppers.

"Now," he began, "perhaps you can tell me how you came to come to this dimension. We have not ever occurred _human_ hoppers, before."

"None?!" Naruto groaned out. _"Great...basically nothing here will help us out much!"_ he thought miserably.

**"Not true, you will find much that was lost in the Elemental Nations here. Wan Shi Tong, I humbly ask to allow these two kits to copy the texts within this section of your library that may or may not help them in their endeavor to return home." **Kurama asked respectfully, slightly shocking her blonde haired kit.

"Hmm... this I will allow. You are not human in my eyes, and as such, not one to feel my discontent toward their race. I will allow you to do so, knowing as honorable 'shinobi' you shall not go beck on your word to not spread such knowledge in hopes for wealth or power."

"We swear, by our honor, we will not use this knowledge in hopes of causing harm to others, whoever they may be." Gaara said with a bow that was mimicked by Naruto.

"Very well. Enjoy the Library, and I hope you find what you need to send you back to your home." With that said, the Owl left the trio behind.

"He...he doesn't seem so bad..." Naruto muttered softly.

**"Seems he's gotten better at talking to people... though that might be just because he sees you two as half-spirit rather than all human. Time in the physical world seems to have sullied his opinion of Man." **

"Indeed. People have come here to this library not for it's original purpose, and this upsets him. Rightfully so, I'd say." Gaara said nodding slightly to himself.

"Well, let's get to reading these scrolls. I have enough copy seals to use on them and I can easily make another storage scroll with the empty scroll in my arm." Naruto said brushing a droplet of blood over a scroll tattoo where a scroll poofed into existence.

"We should get started then. I shall take this side and you can take the other." Gaara said making four sand clones to help him out."

"You got it, Gaara." Naruto said creating his own shadow clones. Four for looking through the grand number of scrolls and tomes, and another to create the storage scrolls and be prepared to use the copy-seals on any scroll or book they determined should be looked into further.

Naruto looked through the tomes, and one in particular, caught his eye immediately. He brushed past every other scroll and book that was beside the purple leather bound tome he had found. Taking it out gently from the shelf it laid upon, no doubt untouched for several centuries, Naruto stared wide eyed at the cover illustration.

It was the Rinnengan.

Bringing the tome over to the desk that sat at the middle of the section, Naruto opened the tome with careful hands and as soon as he saw the slightest bit of information, he had placed a copy seal on the cover and with a small burst of chakra, an exact copy (though brand new) poofed into existence next to it.

"Naruto?" Gaara asked curious of what his friend was looking at with such a serious gaze. When he caught sight of the cover however, his unspoken question was answered. "This is... a tome on the Rinnengan..." he stated more than asked.

Regardless, Naruto nodded. "From the looks of it, it has nearly everything anyone could ask for about the Rinnengan. It existed _way_ before the Sage of Six Paths... it began here, in this dimension. Everything, Gaara...everything about what can be done with the Rinnengan is right here in this tome! I don't have to experiment anymore! Maybe...maybe this is our key to getting home..."

Gaara looked thoughtful, knowing from Pein's invasion just how powerful the Rinnengan was. Even with the power Pein held, Gaara now doubted that the young orange haired man knew even _half_ of what could be done with the Rinnengan from the looks of the think book. With this, it could very well be their ticket home. "I think you are correct, Naruto. However, we must keep looking in case it _isn't_ our way back."

Nodding once more, Naruto composed himself and moved back to the walls, looking vehemently for anything that might help them get back to their own dimension. Naruto knew that they didn't belong there; he could feel it in his very essence. They were intruding on what was supposed to happen in this world...with their existence in this dimension, they had thrown off whatever path the world was originally on. Hell, for all they knew, they could very well cause the war to escalate faster with their very existence...unless it was supposed to happen, and they were meant to come to this dimension.

Either way, it was confusing and concerning as hell.

**"Don't worry about that right now, Kit. Worry about finding a way back home, the Spirits always find a way to set the stream of time back on it's path." **Kurama said with a light, but serious tone. **"Though...those particular spirits enjoy to mess with peoples lives...so whatever happens, don't be too surprised."**

"Somehow, Kurama, I _doubt_ anything could surprise us anymore." Naruto pitched in dryly.

**"I suppose...with everything you two have seen.**"

"We have seen a great much, but I believe there will be much in this new world that will take us by surprise. Though, this world does seem to be a bit...primitive in many ways." Gaara said pondering over everything they had seen and been told.

"Yeah, they don't even have tv! Or ramen! How can they not have food of the gods?!" Naruto wailed out sadly while both Kurama and Gaara sweatdropped at the sight.

**"Then you will have to make your own. Teuchi gave you his recipes before you left Konoha. Might even be able to make a life for your own here...no one knows you, no one is after you, and you have the means to make yourself something here." **Kurama said, her voice growing gentle near the end.

Naruto stopped what he was doing to think that over. It was true. Here, there were no enemy nin that were after him. Here, there was no need to hide what he looked like to avoid notice. Here... he was unknown. And that was what every shinobi craved.

"We still need a find a way to get back." Naruto said moving back to reading quickly through the scrolls. "Even if I decide to stay, Gaara definitely has to get back home; they need their Kazekage, after all."

Both Kurama and Gaara nodded, and knew there was a high possibility that Naruto would stay once their research proved fruitful and they discovered a way to break through the veil between this, and their home dimension. Unfortunately, their search was cut off short, as the entire Library began to rumble.

**"Damnit! That owl is sinking this entire place into the sand! We need to get the Avatar out of here! The world cannot wait another two decades for a trained Avatar if he dies!" **Kurama exclaimed. She just _knew_, as did her kits, that it was the Water-tribe boy who angered the Owl. Undoubtedly he broke his word, and brought the Spirits wrath upon them.

Without a moments hesitation, the two trained shinobi ran across the library. Already having sealed the scrolls into his body, Naruto sent out a small pulse of his chakra sensor and felt the group of children running for their lives from the Owl. Ever so often, the two would feel the library sink faster, then slow all of a sudden. Both had suspected the earth-bending girl had something to do with it, though were positive that Shukaku was doing his best to help her out. As powerful as he was, he wasn't just fighting over the sinking sand, but Wan Shi Tongs will to make the library sink; and when that owl was determined to do something, there was little to be done to stop him.

* * *

"Stop sinking!" Toph groaned out as she sunk her hands into the wall of the tower that was slowly sinking into the ground. Shukaku was using as much of his power over the sands underneath them, though he was fighting against Wan Shi Tong's will, which was strong when defending what he loved.

_**"Damn bird! Stop it!"**_Shukaku screeched out annoyed, though he knew he wouldn't reach the ancient spirit, him being so far away from him and not having eye contact with the owl.

While both Toph and Shukaku were working on keeping the library from sinking, behind them, sand benders were making their way toward Appa, dead set on capturing the Sky Bison. Shukaku growled and screeched at Toph, getting her attention long enough for her to realize that Appa was in danger.

"Get away from us!" She screamed, throwing the sand blindly as she couldn't get a clear picture of her surroundings due to the ever shifting sand.

Appa all the while growled and did everything he could to keep the sand-benders at bay, but they began to throw ropes around his body, startled growls, he stopped supporting the library, hoping Toph would be able to hold it up long enough for the idiots still inside to get out safely. He had heard Toph groan in complaint to the sudden weight she had to support, but didn't falter as Shukaku turned to face the sand-benders.

He let out a growl, pulling the sand by him toward his body and grew in size. He didn't turn to that of his normal size, but well larger than Appa and roared at the sand-benders. The group that had tried to kidnap Appa, shrieked and yelled in shock and fright, for none had ever seen an sand racoon-dog before, nor one that suddenly grew in size within seconds.

_**"You will not take** **him."**_ Shukaku roared in the sand-benders minds, effectively causing a greater number of them to loose control over their bowels.

"It can't be..." one of them muttered loud enough for Toph to have heard him while she struggled with the quick sinking library.

_"What can't be?" _she thought to herself frustratedly. If she were on solid ground, she would be of more use against the sand-benders. Instead, she had to deal with shifty sand and a very _very_ unclear image of what was going on behind her. She could feel the sand moving beneath her, but she just figured that was due to the sand-benders, she never realized there was another entity protecting Appa, and in turn, protecting her.

"Dear spirits..." another muttered before there were screams heard all around along with Appa's roars and Momo's monkey like shrieks.

"Appa!" Toph screamed as she threw sand in a direction she felt human feet were grazing on. Appa's roars became more and more triumphant when she felt the sand-benders retreating. Smiling to herself she said, "Way to go Appa!"

Shukaku merely shrugged the sand off him, reverting back to his miniature sized self and was met with Appa's large head grazing his own. The message was clear. _"Thank you."_

Being the ex-blood obsessed demon he was, Shukaku merely grunted in acknowledgement. He wasn't exactly doing it solely for the Sky Bison's sake. The idiots thought that they could actually take him down. He, the demon that ruled over every grain of sand, in a desert. Such arrogance could not stand without going unpunished.

Once he was released from the Bison's hold, Shukaku went back to helping Toph with keeping the Library above the sands surface, or at least the small window they had climbed through until they managed to come back out.

"Hurry up, guys..!" Toph groaned under the strain.

Shukaku could only agree.

* * *

"Guys!" Naruto screamed through the Library, trying to get them to realize that he, Kurama, and Gaara were near. With Gaara's help, once they reached the idiot group of teens, they could leave unharmed...they just had to leave before the entire place went underground, for when that happened, the Library would be transported back to the spirit world. Or so Kurama had theorized.

"Kyaaa!" Katara's high-pitched scream echoed on the walls immediately caught the trio's attention.

Out of the shadows, the group ran with a _very_ angry Wan Shi Tong nipping at their heels, and tried to claw at them with his talons that could very easily run through a slap of metal as though it were warm butter.

_**"Kits! We have to make sure the Avatar makes it out! He's our first priority. Keep the bird preoccupied, I'll lead the idiots out!"** _Kurama ordered the two shinobi who merely nodded in acceptance.

"Follow Kurama! She'll lead you guys out!" Naruto said to the group as he raced forward with Gaara, both wielding their respected weapons in hand; Naruto with his kunai, and Gaara with his sand.

The group looked at the two rushing teens and when they had passed them, Katara screamed. "Get back here! You'll die!"

"We'll be fine!" Naruto screamed in reply, jumping to attack Wan Shi Tong.

"You need to leave, now!" Gaara said in his Kazekage commanding tone that left no room for argument. Kurama, getting annoyed, spewed fire at their feet and got them to move, albeit reluctantly.

As soon as the group was out of sight, Naruto and Gaara halted their attacks.

"They broke their word, right?" Naruto asked blandly.

The large owl looked menacingly down at the pair of dimension-hoppers. "Yes." he grounded out with a furious hiss. "This..._This_ is why I despise humans. All they want from knowledge is to breed more violence. To continue the hatred of blood, pain, and death. It is maddening. And I will not stand to aid it an longer!"

"We understand, Great Spirit, Wan Shi Tong." Gaara said. "You know of our home. Of it's nature. Naruto and I have been fighting together for years to help end this cycle, but the Avatar must not die now."

"From what we know, _he_ is meant to bring balance back into this world. Should he die now, the world will have to wait another decade and a half before they have a partially trained Avatar to help them. The price of that wait is something the world cannot afford to pay."

"Thousands...Hundreds of thousands more will die if the Avatar is to fall before he brings balance in this lifetime. You know that."

Wan Shi Tong reverted back to a less agitated state, his feathers no longer ruffled up angrily.

"While you speak the truth, I will continue to sink this library back to it's proper place in the Spirit World, never to be seen again by human eyes." he stated firmly.

"And it is your right to do so." Gaara said diplomatically. "All we ask is you wait until the Avatar and his companions have made it safely out of the Library confines to do so, as well as allowing us to leave."

The ancient spirit looked down at the two shinobi, his gaze piercing through their very souls. With one last ruffle of his feathers, Wan Shi Tong returned to the state they had first laid eyes on; calm, cold, and composed.

"Very well, Naruto Uzumaki-Namikaze, wielder of the Rinnengan, vessel of the Kyuubi, Kurama, and Gaara no Subaku, Kazekage of Sunagakure no Sato, ex-vessel of the Ichibi, Shukaku, you may leave this Library in one piece." he said calmly before continuing in a serious tone. "Know this, shinobi, the world is spiraling down to the very depths of darkness, reaching closer to the peak of this violent cycle, and soon the fate of the world shall be decided. Decide soon whether or not you shall play a pivotal role in the path this world shall take."

Before any questions could be asked, Wan Shi Tong drifted back into the shadows that grew larger as the library continued to sink. Knowing that they wouldn't get any more out of the owl, Naruto and Gaara sprinted at great speeds back to the center of the library. The rope remained, but Gaara saw no point in using it and rather chose to take both Naruto and himself with the assistance of the sand that was quickly filling the interior of the Library.

Just as the tip of the window drifted under the sea of sand, Naruto and Gaara rolled out, said blonde spitting the mouthful of sand that managed to find it's way into his throat.

"Ugh...sand..." Naruto groaned out with a pitiful expression as he stood up before he felt a body hurl at him. The sudden attack had caught him off guard and soon Naruto tumbled back down into the sand, Gaara right beside him. The attack was made by a certain young water-tribe girl who had a face full of relief.

"You're alive!" she breathed out. "How did you manage to fight against the Spirit!?" she practically demanded.

Gently pushing her off them, the fallen trio stood up once again, though this time Gaara assisted in ridding both he and Naruto's unwanted sand from their bodies.

Rubbing the back of his head, Naruto answered honestly. "Ummm, we didn't really fight in the end..."

Noticing the young teens expressions, Gaara continued. "We did not go against our word and abuse the knowledge in the Library. We had done no wrong and were able to convince him of such, thus allowing you to get away safely."

Kurama chose that moment to rush at her vessel, said blonde caught the small red fox with practiced ease and stroked her almost lovingly.

**_"Glad you were able to reason with the bird. Don't worry about anything he said, he always had an air for dramatics."_**

Neither Naruto or Gaara were convinced, but they could speak more about what the Owl had said later on when the others were asleep.

"Oh..." Aang muttered softly while the trio who had ventured into the Library looked slightly ashamed.

"Where is Professor Zei?" Naruto asked, realizing that the excitable man wasn't with them only for his eyes to widen in horror. "Was he-?"

"He decided to stay in the library..." Katara mumbled sadly.

Gaara and Naruto merely said a small silent prayer, hoping that he was happy surrounded by countless books in the Spirit World before turning to the kids once more.

"Shukaku." Gaara said tonelessly, looking the raccoon-dog straight in the eye as he walked toward him.

**_"Sand-benders attempted to steal the bison. Dealt with easily...the arrogant pricks"_**

Both shinobi nodded slightly as Naruto decided to ask, "Where will you go now?"

The group shared a look together before Sokka chose to pull out an ancient looking slip of parchment, the writing read as "The Fire Nations Darkest Day." followed by a date and little burned and ripped information.

"We've discovered that the Fire Nation can't bend during a solar eclipse, and one is coming soon. We need to get to Ba Sing Sei and tell the Earth King of this so that we can plan an invasion and end the war before summer's end." Both Shinobi were a little surprised at how commanding and serious Sokka became while telling them of their plan. Though both shared the same thought.

_"He'll become a fine leader one day." _

Nodding, Gaara asked, "May we accompany you? We cannot, in good conscience, leave you with a pivotal task such as the one you have given yourselves alone."

"Plus, I _really_ would love to learn air-bending from you Aang..." Naruto added, hoping to use that little tid-bit for good measure. The _last_ air-bender couldn't deny him that, could he?

"Sure! I can teach you everything Monk Gyatso taught me!" Aagn agreed immediately to the shinobi's pleasure as well as their companion demons, or spirits in this dimension.

"Great!" Naruto grinned foxily.

"Great.." a young feminine voice drawled out. "Can we go now? I'm _sick_ of all this sand!"

"Yeah, we should get going to Ba Sing Sei as soon as possible." Katara agreed, making her way to Appa.

Aang merely grinned and jumped onto his companion's head. "Ready buddy?"

Appa merely roared lowly, readying himself for the trip.

"Alright," Sokka said sitting on Appa's saddle, "to Ba Sing Sei!"

* * *

A/N: Sooooo~ What do you think?


	3. Full Moon Bay

A/N: Horray I'm back! Totally kicked ass in my finals, thank goodness, and while I'm going to be working a lot more hours because school no longer is a factor in my life (at least for the summer) I will hold to my promise of updating at least once a week. The updates will be posted as followed:

Monday: _Beyond the Veil_  
Tuesday: _Day of Revolution_ (Maybe...I've lost pretty much all of my inspiration to this story so it may be abandoned/indefinite hiatus)  
Wednesday: _Of Fire and Ice_  
Thursday: _The Fire Shadow of Young Justice_  
Friday: _The Last Shinobi_  
Saturday: _To Shape and Change_  
Sunday: My day off peeps! (not really, probably will be writing/planning future chapters for everything...)

So, I'll do my best to stick to this schedule, and should anything happen that stops be from doing so, understand that this is a hobby and does not take priority over my life. Heck, I'm not even aspiring to be a writer, I'm an Art Major focusing in Animation. Not saying I will not keep to my promise, but know that it isn't binding or anything should I fail to keep it. Anyway, that's that, and here's the new chapter! Enjoy all!

Key:

"Regular speech"  
_"ANBU Signing"_  
**"Demon talking"**  
**_"Demon projected thoughts"_**

* * *

The trip out of the desert was a quiet one, even though it had started off rather animatedly, as the events that occurred in the Library played vividly in the minds of the young teens. Gaara and Naruto were faring well enough; death was something they had grown around and were trained to do, being disconcerted over such a thing would not fare well in their dangerous lifestyle. The other teens, who had not been opened completely to the horrors of war, being so young, were taking it as best as any civilian could. Sokka was distracting himself with reading all he could out of the scrolls he had obtained whilst in the library, trying to find something that would help the group end the war quicker and with as little casualties as possible. Katara busied herself with going through small water-bending exercises, her chi flowing as calmly as she could while focusing on the single task rather than leaving a man to die in the library. Aang was by far taking it the worst even as he tried to busy himself with Momo and flying Appa. They had all seen, or at least known, death, of that both shinobi were sure, but this _type_ of death was unknown to the children. More than that, the shinobi could sense that Aang was at a loss; a loss with what he was supposed to do as the Avatar.

Kurama and Shikaku had explained that due to the fact that the Air Nomads were eradicated before Aang had turned the appropriate age, he knew nothing of what being the Avatar entailed other than he was supposed to master all four elements and return balance to the world. The two tailed spirits had no doubt that his past lives had helped him to some extent, but past lives had a knack for filling explanations with riddles, leaving you with more questions than answers. Thought, with the treat of the Fire Nation growing stronger by the day, there was a chance that they were more helpful than usual.

Either way, Aang knew nothing _other_ than the fact he was supposed to master the four elements in proper order, and then defeat the Fire Lord and effectively end the war.

_**"Oh yes, that is much to go on."** _Shukaku projected scathingly. He was by far annoyed that they had a duty to teach the little brat. He was optimistic and idealistic...two awful combinations in the heat of war. War required realists, and at times, pessimists, in order to do things properly and effectively move to the end of a war, or any battle really.

Or so was his belief.

Kurama wasn't any happier at the prospect of having to hold the Avatar's hand for a long while yet. She knew they would have to for a certain amount of time, given the fact that the boy was so young compared to the grand majority of his past lives. Of course, it wasn't the first time they had a young Avatar leading the world toward balance...he was simply the first one that the world couldn't afford to lose.

_**"We will have to reveal ourselves eventually,"**_Kurama stated with a small almost silent sigh, _**"but for now the two of you must act for us. Teach him, and the others, what you know of war...and of sacrifice."**_

_"That wars will not be ended with pretty words, but metal clashing upon metal, and sadly, with the death of many good men and women." _Gaara thought out to them. Having grown up with assassination attempts on his life at least once a week, he knew the harsh realities of life better than most.

_"They are still young." _Naruto thought. _"They will either break, or grow stronger... we cannot allow them to break."_

_"No, we cannot. Nor shall we allow them to."_

**_"It is not in our hands, but with the wills of these cubs. Whatever happens, is what happens, though I'm sure you will do everything you can to help them."_ **Shukaku thought somewhat annoyed, though his voice was softer than usual.

"We need to get supplies before we go to Ba Sing Sei." Katara finally said, breaking the silence that had fallen over the small group.

"Still don't know why we have to go to that stuffy place. It's just like with my parents." Toph said, none to thrilled at the idea of going to the Earth Nation stronghold.

"We need to get this information to the Earth King no matter what and as soon as possible." Sokka said logically. "With this information, we can begin preparations for an invasion force during the solar eclipse."

"I know that...but...ugh!" Toph grunted in a resigned tone, lying flat on her back and looked blindly into the sunlit sky as it dimmed to darkness.

"Hey, Naruto, Gaara?" Katara asked turning to the blonde and red head.

"Hm?" Naruto hummed lightly as he turned his attention to the Water-Tribe girl, while Gaara acknowledged her with his dark eyes.

"What did you get at the library?" she asked.

Gaara and Naruto shared a discrete look, knowing it was better to leave the young teens ignorant to their true situation and the fact they had taken copies of scrolls and tomes with information possibly leading to their successful return to their home-dimension.

"What makes you think we took anything?" Naruto asked lightly with an innocent look in his bright sky-blue eyes.

"You mean you didn't take anything?" Sokka asked surprised.

"We did not break our word to the All Knowing Spirit, Wan Shi Tong." Gaara said honestly, gaining nods from the four other teens on the Bison before they let topic drop. Whilst they hadn't lied, Gaara hadn't truly answered their question, a deception tactic of the oldest kind.

They landed down back in the desert town they had begun their journey into the desert and picked up small things they would need until they made it to a more supplied area in the Earth Nation. Gaara and Naruto told them they didn't need to worry, as they could easily procure much needed supplies if need be.

"How can you do that?" Sokka asked curiously.

"We grew up moving around a lot. Sometimes, we didn't have money to buy things, so we learned to make a lot of stuff, and we're exceptional hunters, so food is never any trouble." Naruto answered for the both of them. It was pretty much true after all, with the missions they took that sometimes caused them to survive out in the wild with little more than a kunai and some ration bars if things got tough.

"Great! Now we don't need to buy too much meat!" Sokka exclaimed happily at the prospect that he no longer had to hunt alone. No one other than him knew how to hunt. Though Katara had no trouble plucking fish out of rivers, sometimes they strayed off far enough from them that hunting forest animals was necessary if they wanted to have some protein in their system from something other than nuts and berries - not that Aang ever complained.

* * *

Once the group traveled far into a rather secluded and serene area, fit with a waterfall and trees where they could scavenge for supplies, the group took a well needed break from flying. Naruto chose to join Katara and Aang as they enjoyed the water, watching fascinated as Katara and Aang showed him a couple of water-bending techniques, whilst both Toph and Gaara chose to actually rest and somewhat meditate. Sokka was the only one who was actually looking at the scrolls he had taken from the library.

"Water-bending ball!" Katara screamed as she jumped off the high cliff where the water-fall began. Gaara had already anticipated this and formed the correct seals to create a rock dome over his head; he did not need to be soaked and have his sand armor cascade down him in glops. Toph and Sokka, however, were not so lucky and became soaked to the bone.

"Sure." Sokka said sarcastically. "Five-thousand year old scrolls from the spirit library...just splash some water on them."

Naruto and Aang were propelled from the blast that came from Katara's "_water-bending ball_" and landed in a heap on land near the trio who chose not to swim. Toph, Aang, and Naruto laughed at Sokka's sarcastic tone before Katara's voice rang through.

Sheepishly, she said, "Sorry." before water-bending the water out of the scroll effortlessly.

"So, did you figure out what route we're going to take?" Aang asked as Sokka placed the map down on the floor for everyone, save Toph, could see clearly.

"Okay, so we just exited the desert" He began pointing to the map. "So we must be somewhere around here. The easiest way is to remain on the other side of this little sliver of land called the "Serpents pass" so that we won't be spotted by Fire Navy ships.

"You're sure that's the best way to go?" Toph added with her arms crossed. She didn't know, but the name "Serpents pass" didn't seem to scream "a walk in the park" sort of travel, even if they were on the opposite side of where the Fire Nation would be patrolling.

"It's the only way to be safe." Sokka said determined.

"Then off to Ba Sing Sei we go." Naruto said with a light fist pump into the air. Both Gaara and he were rather excited on see another city other than the ones they had come to know. To see the differences in their world and this one in terms of culture, government, technological advances, and the like would be at the least informative, and if anything, be a great boon into helping their home once they figured out how to re-create the seal that had brought them here.

Just as they were going to head back to Appa and be on their way to see the Earth King, a man's voice screamed and caught their attention.

"Hello there fellow refugees!" the man exclaimed while he waved at the group of teens, though his eyes were on the older looking Naruto and Gaara... if it was just because of their rare hair colors, or the fact they were older than the others, they didn't quite know. The refugee was a trio, compiled of the man, a _very _pregnant woman, and another woman who looked to be the sister of the pregnant woman.

"Hello." Naruto said in a polite greeting.

"So are you guys headed to Ba Sing Sei, too?" Aang asked as the traveling trio stopped in front of them.

"Sure are." The man said. "We are trying to get there before my wife, Ying, has her baby." It was rather heart-warming to see the man, who so clearly loved his wife, rub her swollen stomach affectionately. She looked about ready to give birth, but still maintained a motherly glow about her that was a treasured sight in the Shinobi Nations.

"Great, we can travel together. We're taking Appa across the water, but I don't think he'll be able to fly all of us..." Katara had begun strongly before her voice turned into a small mutter at the end of her sentence.

"Fly?" the wife, Ying, asked curiously.

"Yeah, Appa, he's my flying bison." Aang said with a wide boyish grin. "Appa, come here boy!" he called out to his bison who lightly yawned in response before walking over to the group. The refugee trio stared at the six-legged creature with hanging jaws and awed expressions.

"That...he is an amazing creature." The husband said after finally composing himself. "We thank you, but we are actually headed to Full Moon Bay, ferries take refugees across the lake. It's the fastest way to Ba Sing Sei...well, aside from taking a flying Bison I assume."

"And it's hidden, so the Fire Nation can't find it." Ying added with a slight shrug and a happy smile.

"Oh, forgive me, I am Cheng, and as you know, this is my wife Ying, and her younger sister, Ling."

"A pleasure to meet you all." Gaara said politely, nodding his head in acknowledgement. " I am Gaara no Subaku, and this is my brother in all but blood, Naruto Uzumaki-Namikaze. This here is Katara and Sokka of the Water Tribe, Toph of the Beifong family, and Aang of the Southern Air Temple, the Avatar." when he introduced Aang, the three travelers looked awed once more.

"Avatar Aang, it is an honor to meet you." The three bowed to the twelve year old boy who in turn became pink faced and looked sheepish.

"Er, it's nice to meet you too." He said finally, scratching the back of his head.

"So you are headed to Ba Sing Sei for a better life as well?" Cheng asked politely.

"Actually, we need to see the Earth King." Katara said, and as she was about to continue, Sokka hushed her.

"We can't tell every passer-by what we're planning to do!"

"Sokka, though your caution is appreciated, they are mere travelers, refugees, and obviously not related to the Fire Nation, as I doubt they would send a pregnant woman and her family to fight you." Gaara explained in a low voice that wouldn't reach the three who had just joined them. Such obvious suspicion was down right rude, especially with someone who was obviously innocent.

"I see, yes as the Avatar I am sure you have much to speak of with the King." Cheng said lightly. "We hope to start a new life in Ba Sing Sei, for my family and this little one coming into the world soon." Once again, the man rubbed his wife's stomach with a loving gaze that caused the group to smile slightly.

"In dark times, such as these, hope is our most powerful advantage over those who would do away with us, for with it, our will of fire never dies." Gaara said to the group, his eyes closed as he sat in an almost meditative position.

The others stared at him, wondering why such a young man could sound so knowledgeable of the world, while Naruto merely smiled at his friend while petting Kurama. Shukaku stared at his ex-vessel with a bored gaze, knowing how he secretly enjoyed causing other's jaws to drop at what he said. It was one of the perks of being Kazekage that he truly enjoyed.

"We will accompany you to the ferries, or at least I will. I would feel much better if I knew you made it safely to Full Moon Bay." Naruto said gaining a nod of approval from Kurama and Gaara whilst Shukaku merely barked lightly.

"We can all go to the ferries." Aang announced. "Maybe it'd be better if Appa took you three to Ba Sing Sei, it'll be safer for you with him. Maybe one of us could go with them?"

"I'll go, you look just about ready to give birth, Ying, I have experience if that happens while we're traveling." Katara said, readily agreeing to help the three over to the main land and Ba Sing Sei.

"That would be wise, though I believe that Naruto should go as well." Gaara suggested. "He is well versed in more than simply bending, an can help protect you all alongside Katara should anything occur while on your trip."

"That's a good idea." Sokka said. "You five take Appa and we'll meet you at the ferry docks on the other side."

"Thank you very much, Avatar Aang." Cheng said sincerely.

The small group made their goodbyes as Naruto and Gaara spoke quietly to each other.

"Take care, my friend." Gaara said to his brother in all but blood. "I have a bad feeling about what is to come."

_**"You would be right to feel such. There is a foul taste in the air..."** _Kurama commented as she sniffed the air distastefully, her snout scrunching up in a snarl.

**_"Be careful."_ **Shukaku advised the blonde and his sister. **_"and keep that pup safe. She's far too curious for her own good."_**

_"Come on, it's a simple trip across a lake, what could happen?" _

Kurama growled at him when he projected that thought. _**"Better hope you're not eating those words later, kit."**_

_"We'll be fine. Now I better go, you guys be safe over there."  
_

_"See you soon."_

* * *

Gaara, Aang, Sokka, and Toph all traveled at a decent pace to Full Moon Bay, and were happy when they discovered the hidden entrance guarded by no less than four Earth Nation soldiers.

Once they were inside, Aang gaped at the amount of people that were piled inside the cave.

"I can't believe how many people's lives have been uprooted because of the war..." his voice came in, softer than a whisper.

"In war, there are many who lose their lives, many more whose lives are destroyed because of it...may times, they are innocent civilians." Gaara said before placing a comforting hand on his shoulder. "Count these people lucky, Aang, for they have the option for at least trying to find a better life. Many do not have that option."

Shaking his head at the details in war that were almost always ignored, Gaara continued. "Come, we should get tickets for the ferry lest we wish to make the others wait around too long for our arrival."

As they entered the line and quickly moved closer to the ticket-lady, the group had to contain a shudder as they heard the woman screech at a man before her.

"I told you already!" she hissed, "No vegetables on the ferry! One cabbage-slug could destroy the _entire_ ecosystem of Ba Sing Sei! Security!" she screeched, pointing at a harmless wagon of cabbages before it was torn apart by a platypus-bear.

"MY CABBAGES!" the poor man wailed, dropping to his knees and freezing from shock that the security officers had to drag him away.

After the man was hauled away, Aang approached the intimidating woman and asked, "Umm, four tickets for the Ferry to Ba Sing Sei, please."

The woman, not even deigning Aang with so much of a glance demanded, "Passports."

Aang looked confused and said, "Umm, no one told us anything about passports..."

Sokka chose this as a perfect time to cut in and exclaimed, "Don't you know who this is? He's the Avatar!"

"Gah! I see fifty Avatars a day. And by the way, not a very impressive costume." she said while pointing to her left where a small group of "Avatars" stood in poor "Avatar" costumes. Aang took one look and smiled happily; it was good to see he inspired people.

"Besides," the woman continued. "No animals allowed." she said looking at Momo who had chosen this as the perfect time to come out from hiding on Aang's back. "Unless, you want me to call security?"

One look at the platypus-bear, and Aang quickly backed off. "That won't be necessary..."

Before Aang could say anything else, the woman screamed, "NEXT!"

Toph took this time to walk up to the woman, whom didn't intimidate her in the least, and said to her friends, "I'll take care of this."

Once she stood directly in front of the woman's booth, she brought out her passport and said, "My name is Toph Beifong, and I'll need four tickets."

The woman stared at her with a scrutinizing gaze before it landed on the beautiful flying boar seal of the Beifong family.

"Ohhh, the golden seal of the flying boar! It is my pleasure to help anyone of the Beifong family." she said with a respectful bow to the small child before her.

"It _is_ your pleasure." Toph said with a superior attitude. "As you can see, I'm blind, and these two imbeciles are my valets, and the red-head is my personal guard."

The woman continued unsure, "But, the animal..."

"Is my seeing-eye lemur." Toph finished her sentence with a tone that said it was the end of that argument.

"Well, normally it's only one ticket per passport, but this document is so official...I suppose it's worth four tickets." she said as she stamped four tickets to the ferry before passing them to Toph.

"Thank you very much." Toph said as she walked away, her friends close behind.

Once they were a bit ways away, Gaara said, "Your personal guard? I am glad to see that you finally realize that I am stronger than you as you need someone to guard you." His voice was clearly teasing, though he did catch a slight color change on her cheeks that merely widened his smirk.

"Wipe that smirk off your face, sand-man. I don't need anyone to guard me, I can take care of myself." she answered with a stomp of her foot.

"Yes, and that is _exactly_ the lie you told the ticket-lady."

Gaara, Aang, and Toph turned when they heard a strangled cry from Sokka and saw a guards-woman demand for their tickets and passports.

"Is there a problem?" Sokka asked a bit unsure and slightly scared.

"Yeah," the guard continued. "I've got a problem with you. I've seen your type before. Probably sarcastic, think you're hilarious, and let me guess, you're traveling with the Avatar." The group looked at the guard with wonder and curiosity on their faces.

"Do I know you?" Sokka asked staring at her with a raised eyebrow.

"You mean you don't remember?!" the guard exclaimed, grabbing onto Sokka's collar. "Well, maybe this will remind you." In all honesty, both Sokka and the group thought she was going to slug him a good one, and were equally shocked when she kissed him affectionately on the cheek.

It took about a millisecond after the soft kiss that Sokka exclaimed, "Suki!" before hugging her happily.

The Guard, now dubbed Suki, smiled and hugged him back with equal force. "Sokka! It's good to see you!"

"Wow, you look so different without your make-up!" Aang exclaimed as he realized it was Suki in front of them and not a stranger.

"Um, hello? Have no idea who this chick is over here." Toph said with her arms crossed.

"Oh, sorry you two. This is Suki, she's a Kiyoshi Warrior from Kiyoshi Island we met a while back." Sokka introduced. "Suki, this is Gaara and Toph."

"Nice to meet you two. Hey Sokka, where's your sister? And why aren't you taking Appa across?" Suki asked curiously.

"Katara, and our other friend, Naruto, are taking Appa and three refugees across the lake. One of the refugees was really pregnant, so we thought it would be safer for her to get across to Ba Sing Sei as fast as possible." the water-tribe boy explained. "Katara went along with them because she knows about giving birth."

"Oh, that makes sense." Suki said with a smile.

"Are the other Kiyoshi warriors around?" Aang asked.

"Yeah, after you left Kiyoshi we wanted to find a way to help people. We ended up escorting some refugees and found ourselves here every since."

"We should go, the ferry will be leaving soon." Gaara said. "It was a pleasure meeting you Suki." Gaara said with a bow of his head. He no longer bowed to anyone, and never would again since he was a Kage. It wasn't a matter of superiority, but merely that of habit.

"Oh, right." Sokka said with a slighlty glum tone before brightening up completely. "You should come with us!" he said. "You could help us when we talk to the Earth King about the war."

Suki pondered over that thought for a while before she nodded slowly. "I would love to come, Sokka." she said with a smile. "I'll go talk to the crabby lady and see about getting a ticket. Be back soon!" she took off, knowing that neither Sokka or Aang would leave without her.

"Well, it seems we have a new companion." Gaara said with a small smile. It was clear that the teenage girl was a fighter, for it was in the very way she held herself as she walked and stood. He was sure that Naruto would appreciate another sparring partner, one who had a style that they had no idea about; it would deal an interesting challenge to the blonde, one that he was certain his friend would appreciate.

It didn't take long for Suki to come back, dressed in the Kiyoshi Warrior uniform rather than the guard one she had donned earlier. Though both Aang and Sokka had to agree that without her make-up, the outfit definitely looked incomplete. When she nodded at the question of whether or not she were ready, Gaara turned and began to walk to their designated ferry.

"And now, we are off to Ba Sing Sei."


	4. The Serpent's Pass

A/N: Well, not exactly what to say other than here's the next chapter! So hope you enjoy!

Key:

"Speech"  
_"ANBU Signing"_  
_'Thoughts'_  
**"Demon speech"  
_"Demon projected thoughts."_**

* * *

Chapter 4: The Serpent's Pass

As Naruto watched his brother, Aang, Sokka, and Toph begin their way to Full Moon Bay, he was unable to help but feel as though something wrong were to happen while they were separated, despite his last words. With Kurama shrunken and wrapped around his shoulders, the blonde shinobi made his way to Appa, who Katara would be flying across the lake and straight to the ferry's port.

"Alright, the sooner we leave, the sooner you three, and soon to be four, will be within the safety of the Walls of Ba Sing Sei." Naruto said with a bright smile.

"Thank you again, Mr. Uzumaki." Cheng said to the older teen who looked a little put out at his name.

"Maa, don't call me 'Mr.' Just Naruto will be fine." noting the man's nod and smile, he continued, "Now why don't I help you get onto Appa, Ying?"

The pregnant wife smiled at the blonde and said, "That would be greatly appreciated, Naruto."

Nodding, Naruto walked up to her and picked her up in a slight bridal-style, as she looked as though she were sitting rather than being carried like a bride in his arms, and jumped up onto Appa, using his wind manipulation to make the jump and landing a lot softer than usual. Ying looked shocked, as did her sister and husband when she was gently placed sat down on Appa's saddle, but the blonde just smiled pleasantly at them.

"I'm an air-bender," he admitted, "It's not that big of a deal, but I'd appreciate it if you didn't tell anyone. I don't want to think of what the Fire Nation might do to me if that information got back to them."

"Of course, Naruto." Ying said sincerely, "We won't say a single thing about it."

Nodding with a smile in thanks, Naruto jumped back down and picked up the supplies that couldn't be placed in seals, since both Gaara and Naruto were still trying to keep a low profile and their true shinobi abilities hidden from the group they traveled with. The pair-dimensional hoppers both knew that eventually, they would have to come clean to the group, as they couldn't afford to loose their trust with the Avatar being a center part of said group, but for now, cementing their place among them was a first priority, and only when it was said and done could they tell the truth about their situation, and about Kurama and Shukaku.

Once he brought the other supplies onto Appa's back saddle, Naruto noted that everyone and everything was on board.

"Great, now we can get going." Katara said as she sat on Appa's neck. "Appa, yip-yip." Immediately the bison took to the skies, the ground becoming further and further away as they got closer to the clouds above them.

"Naruto," came Cheng's voice, "how did you come across the Avatar and his friends?"

Seeing no point in deceiving them, Naruto answered honestly. "Both Gaara and I ran into them at a small pub in a small desert town. Both of us were in search of updated maps, and Professor Zei, Head of Anthropology at Ba Sing Sei University, gave us the means of obtaining said maps at a library located in the middle of the desert. We've been traveling together ever since...which truthfully hasn't been that long at all."

The three refugees listened intently on the story of how Gaara and he met the Avatar and his friends, and Ling asked, "You know a Professor from Ba Sing Sei? Did he continue what he was doing out in the desert? Is that the reason he isn't with you?"

Katara flinched a little, her aura becoming noticeably sad at the mention of the late Professor.

"He decided to stay in the Library and continue to read the tomes within it even as we left." Naruto answered honestly, not wanting to tell the group that the rather enthusiastic man had died...though truthfully, he partially the children for his death. If they had kept their word to Wan Shi Tong, then the bird would have never sunk the Library back to the Spirit World and Professor Zei would have been able to share his discovery to the world.

_**"Though I agree partially, the man did decide to stay behind, even as sand surrounded him, knowing what his fate would be." **_Kurama said while nudging his head with hers,

_'He did...a shame such a man is lost to the world though. There are so little people in the world that are truly enthusiastic about learning everything and anything they can while sharing it without wanting anything in return...just for the sake of knowledge itself. Professor Zei was one such man...'_

**_"He was. But the man chose his fate, and is undoubtedly bugging Wan Shi Tong with ten thousand questions."_ **The fox mentally said to the blonde with a snicker in her voice.

"I see, a man of knowledge then." Cheng said in understanding.

"Very much so. I also learned from him that my companion here, Kurama, is a near extinct Firefox."

"Truly?" Ying said astonished.

Nodding, Naruto watched as Kurama bounded up to the pregnant woman, _knowing_ that in her undeniably adorable "chibi" mode, the woman wouldn't be able to resist petting her.

When the woman petted the red fox, Kurama nuzzled up beside her and enjoyed being pampered.

"She's been my partner since I could remember, and I'm glad Firefox's are incredibly long lived...I don't know what I'd do without her."

_**"Aw, kit. You're making me blush."** _Kurama said with a mental smug look.

_'Ahhh, shut it.'_ Naruto grumbled mentally, though he wouldn't say that he had lied about not knowing what he'd do without her. She had been there since the day he had been born. Sure she was the reason his childhood was a practical 'hell on earth' but she also healed him, gave him her chakra when he was nearly depleted, and helped train him. Without her, he would have been dead before he reached the tender age of five.

"She seems to be a wonderful creature." Ling commented as she stared at the near-purring fox.

"She is, though sometimes she _can_ be a little demon." Naruto admitted with a mental smirk.

**_"Damn right. I'm the Kyuubi no Youko, bow down to me mere mortals! Bo- oh, right there...just a little to the right..."_**Kurama started sarcastically before she leaned into Ying's touch as she, apparently, scratched a perfect spot that turned her to complete mush.

Laughing a little, Naruto said, "I think you just made a friend for life, Ying. I don't think I've ever seen her like that."

With a smile of her own, Ying continued her scratching under Kurama's chin.

"What about Gaara's raccoon-dog, has he had him very long?" Katara asked as she turned to face the four on the saddle.

"He's had Shukaku a little less than I've had Kurama, since I am older than he and we both got Kurama and Shukaku when we were born."

"Really? You've have Kurama that long?" Katara asked somewhat shocked by the revelation.

Shrugging, Naruto said, "Well, yeah. Not that big of a deal."

"It must be nice to have had a companion for so long." Cheng said with a smile on his face.

With a mental grimace, Naruto replied, "I actually didn't know I had her until I was about twelve. She was more of a silent guardian up until then."

"Why didn't you know you had her?"

"My Village Leader thought it better to have her hidden from me until I could take care of her on my own. She's incredible protective of me, but leaving a kid to take care of an animal when he could scarcely take care of himself wasn't exactly the best way to go."

Ying looked at the blonde with a confused gaze and asked, "Why would you need to take care of yourself? What of your parents?"

With a bitter-sweet smile, Naruto answered, "I'm an orphan."

Ying's face dropped to sympathy, as did her husband and sister. "I'm sorry to hear that, Naruto. I'm sure you're parents are very proud of the man you've become without their help."

With a tight nod, Naruto said, "I'm sure they are, and there's no need to be sorry, I've had seventeen, nearly eighteen, years to accept the fact that I'm an orphan."

For a while, the five sat in silence, enjoying the cool breeze that came with the altitude and speed Aapa was flying at. Naruto and Kurama took to leaning on the edge of the saddle, looking down at the thin stretch of land that connected the two bodies of land they were crossing. The sliver of land hardly looked like a serpent, which caused Naruto to furrow his brow in confusion.

_'Why call it 'Serpent's Pass' if it doesn't even resemble a serpent?' _Naruto thought curiously.

_**"It is because there is a water-serpent that chose these waters as it's home. I am particularly glad we did not have to cross this land my foot, for even the slightest disturbance in the water could have brought the blasted thing upon us."**_Kurama said, looking down at the water with disdain. As a fire-natured creature, Kurama was wary of water, and though she could obviously swim, she preferred to stay on dry land and have as little contact with the element as she could.

_'Ah, that makes sense...'_ Naruto thought before his eye caught onto a few Fire Navy ships patrolling the water.

"Katara, is the Fire Nation really this far out into the Earth Nation?" the blonde asked the water-bending girl who looked down to where he was looking with a curious look.

"I didn't think they were," she admitted, "but it looks like they are even this deep into the Earth Nation."

"The Fire Nation patrols the Western Lake," said Ling, "There are rumors that they are working on something big on the other side and they don't wish for anyone to find out what it is... but they could just be that, merely rumors." Even though she said it could just be mere talk, her voice indicated that she was not so confident to believe the Fire Nation wasn't up to something.

Naruto stared harshly down the lone Fire Navy ship, hoping that whatever it was, would soon come to pass so that Gaara and he could put a stop to it.

* * *

Gaara looked to his fellow companions as they sat around on the deck of the ferry. It was a pitiful sight; the amount of refugees that sought asylum from the War, as well as their current physical state. Many of them seemed to have shrunken in themselves, some so bad their thin layer skin was the only thing covering their bones, but the worst was when Gaara caught sight of a child, no older than eight, who bore more burns and scars than any he had seen before, coming to par with Ibiki, who was _tortured. _

From the look of the others, it seemed they were taking the sights poorly. Gaara could see the pain that clouded Aang's eyes, the guilt and shame he was feeling evident as he stared at the refugees around, wanting to help them, but not knowing how. For the most part, the group tried to look away, and concentrate on their own worries, an act Gaara could only shake his head at. It was this _in_action that caused hundreds of innocent civilians to die in war. Provisions were scarce during wartime, as were resources, but if one took the time, they would see and find ways to help those who were horribly affected by the wars they fought. Looking at the pitiful bowl of gruel that the Ferry captain left them to eat, Gaara picked the bowl up and walked to a small group of children, knowing that the teens he traveled with stared at him as he did so.

With Shukaku at his side, Gaara crouched down to his knees and offered them the bowl, and said, "Here, you must eat more if you are ever to grow big and strong like the men and woman fighting for you."

The children looked at him with wide eyes, before thanking him profusely for the extra bowl. Gaara merely smiled before dividing the contents of the bowl equally into their own. It wasn't a glamorous meal, nor did he think it had the slightest nutritional value, but it kept their bellies full for a time being so that they didn't have to go to sleep with a quarter-filled stomach.

Sitting down cross-legged before them, he asked, "What are your names?"

The boy to his left answered after he swallowed the food in his mouth, "Dai," and was followed by the other boy to his left who said, "Jin," and finally by the last small girl who smiled widely, her two front teeth missing, "SuLyn"

With a small smile, Gaara introduced himself, "I am Gaara no Sabaku, and this is my companion, Shukaku, a raccoon-dog."

The children, who could be no older than seven to eight years of age, looked at Shukaku with a twinkle in their eyes. Shukaku, knowing what they wanted to do, padded over to the center of them and sat patiently, waiting for the little ankle-bitters to pet him.

"You may pet him, he will not harm you." Gaara said assuring the children, watching as they tentatively brought their hands to stroke his sandy-colored fur, giggling in delight when they realized how soft it was. Shukaku wasn't particularly pleased, having these little cubs pet him, but he wasn't about to deny them something so simple and pleasing to them when they were nothing more than innocent victims of war; the victims that most people forget and turn a blind eye to.

When the children's respective parents came to bring them back to their sides, they thanked Gaara for the extra food, a thank that Gaara waved off as something that should be done without thanks or a reward. He was Kazekage, it was his duty to protect, and even if they weren't _his_ people, they were still people who _needed_ protection and care.

He walked back to his group and sat around them, noting the expressions they wore, as well as the fact their food bowls were gone.

"That was a good thing you did." Suki said with a grateful look in her eyes.

Gaara simply turned to her and said, "It is simple acts such as those that save hundreds of lives. Ignoring, or deluding yourself to not see those who do not directly affect you, while easy, condemns them to pain, suffering, and often meaningless death. While one cannot save _everyone_, even helping one will make a difference."

The group remained quiet for the time, and Gaara noticed a young man that seemed to be eying him for a time. Staring into the teen's eyes, he motioned his head for Gaara to follow, the wheat strand that he held between his teeth moving with the motion of his head. Curious, Gaara stood up and walked toward the youth, unknowingly blocking the teen's body with his own from Aang and the others. He followed the boy until they were on the other side of the ship, out of sight from his friends due to the masses of refugees that stood in between them.

"Is there something I can do to help you?" Gaara asked curiously while Shukaku stared observantly at the teen.

"My name's Jet, and these are my Freedom Fighters, Smellerbee, and Longshot, and this is Li." the teen introduced, pointing to a girl with red markings on her cheeks, a taller, quiet looking bow with a straw hat on his head, and finally a taller paler boy with a very distinctive burn scar on his left eye.

"I am Gaara no Sabaku, and this is my companion, Shukaku."

Nodding, the teen continued, "I saw what you did for those kids," he said, "and I wanted to let you know that the Captain is eating like a fat, happy King while us refugees have to eat on his scraps. I was wondering if you might want to join us on...liberating some food?"

Gaara took one look back at the other refugees before he nodded his head, "I will help you."

Jet smirked victoriously before asking, "What's in that huge gourd on your back?"

"It contains sand that I use with my...bending." Gaara said, remembering the correct term used in this dimension.

"You're a sand bender?" Smellerbee said slightly surprised.

"I am."

"That'll be really useful." Jet said, "We'll go once the sun's set. The food's stored at the top deck."

Nodding, Gaara said, "That is acceptable."

"You have the eyes of a warrior, young man." an elderly voice broke in, causing Gaara to look at a rather pudgy older man with grey hair and beard.

"And you have they eyes of a leader...and that of a veteran..." he replied, a knowing look in his eyes. Despite years of what seemed to be retirement, the elderly man's stature and eyes were proof enough for his words. Even if someone like Gaara, or even younger such as Konohamaru were to retire, the way they held themselves was something too drilled into them to ever go away, so much so that it became second nature to stand attentive, and observant to everything around you.

"This is my uncle, Mushi." Li introduced, his arms crossed, a speculative expression on his face.

"A pleasure to meet you." Gaara nodded to the man. "I should return to my companions, I will meet you at the base of the stairs before sundown."

"Alright. We'll meet then." Jet agreed, watching as the red-head returned to Aang, Sokka, and the other two he didn't know. He thought it would be better if he didn't approach them, even if he was dying to know why not only Katara was not with them, but why they didn't just take Appa over the lake. He would try to get answers later from Gaara, if he could convince him to eat with them later at night.

* * *

When nightfall approached, Gaara excused himself from the others, and, despite their questioning looks, they did not press him to where he was going or who he spoke to earlier. Walking to the base of the stairs, he waited with the others for the sun to fully set on the horizon before making their ascend to the top of the ferry.

Deftly, Jet, Li, Smellerbee, and Gaara made their way to the food store, with Smellerbee taking watch for any guard that would make it's round. As soon as the guard past the stair base, the four made their way to the door where Li forced it open with his twin blades, both Gaara and Jet quickly making it inside and beginning to swipe as much food as they could.

Gaara used his sand to carry the boxed fruits before turning to both Jet and Li as Smellerbee called out quietly, "Guard!"

Rushing outside, the four waited for Longshot to shoot them a way down, tying the bags of food to the rope at the end of the arrow he shot before using it to slide down as well. The arrow retracted seconds before the guard made his way back.

Once they were down, Gaara helped Jet pass out the food, smiling at the children he met earlier who were ecstatic at having "yummy" food to eat. When he passed by his companions, they stood up and Sokka called out, "Jet! What are you doing here!?"

Jet merely looked at Sokka with a dry expression and said, "Taking the ferry to Ba Sing Sei."

"You stole this food, didn't you?" Sokka accused, though before Jet could reply, Gaara chose to speak up.

"This food was less than a third of what was in the Captain's stores." he said, "These refugees need this food more than he or his guards do, and if there is enough to spare, he should have given a portion to them. As he failed, we liberated some of the food for them. Unless, you would prefer that these children continue to eat the scraps given to us earlier?"

Sokka looked at Gaara before nodding grudgingly, "You're right..." He couldn't deny that what they did _was_ for a good cause. When they had watched Gaara give his food away, all of them had done the same and the horrendously grateful look that the refugee gave him was something that would forever be imprinted on his mind.

"Where are you're other Freedom Fighters?" Aang asked. He might not _like_ Jet, especially after trying to _drown_ an entire town, but Gaara seemed to have helped him, and so far, Gaara spoke with wiser words than some of the monks he grew up with, and he _did_ help for a good cause.

"Smellerbee and Longshot are with me, and I should get back to them, but where's Katara and your bison, Appa?"

Aang chose to answer, "She's with Naruto, and a trio of refugees taking Appa across the lake. One of the refugees was really pregnant and we thought it would be better for them to get to Ba Sing Sei as quickly as possible."

Nodding, Jet turned to Gaara, "I think Li's uncle wanted to talk to you, and I was hoping to talk to you alone later as well."

Gaara gave the group a small nod before walking to speak with Mushi. There was something oddly calming about the man, yet he could feel the trained, experienced power that he kept controlled inside him.

"Wait up, sand-man. I'll come with you," Toph said rising with her bowl in hand. "Better than sticking around here and _listening_ Sokka and Suki give each other 'goo-goo' eyes." she whispered so that only Gaara would hear, though he was certain she hadn't meant for anyone to have heard her complaint.

"Uhh, I'll stick around here." Aang said once Gaara looked to the other three questioningly. Despite not wanting Gaara to leave and eat with Jet, and his Freedom Fighters, he _hadn't_ known Gaara that long at all, and scarcely knew anything about the older red-haired teen. So it certainly wasn't his place to say that he shouldn't talk to them. Sokka felt the same way.

"I shall leave Shukaku here with you, and if you need me before we reach land, send him to me and I shall come." Shukaku padded over to the small plate filled with raw chicken and ate contently by Aang, knowing that Gaara was really asking him to watch over them should anything happen on the last leg to the other side of the lake.

"Alright, Gaara." Suki said with a small smile.

With Jet at his side, Gaara and he returned to the small circle where the others were eating. The two arrived just in time to watch as Mushi unknowingly insulted Smellerbee by saying,

"So, Smellerbee, that is an unusual name for a young man..." expecting to hear a story behind such an unusual name.

"Maybe it's because I'm not a man, I'm a _girl_!" she said before she stood up and stormed off.

"Oooh, now I see," Mushi tried to amend his mistake, "It's a beautiful name for a lovely girl!"

Gaara _was_ tempted to go and say something to her, but her friend, Longshot, merely gave her a look that translated into something he was sure was consoling.

"Hello again, Li, Mushi, this is my friend, Toph Beifong. Toph, to your left is Li, and Mushi." Gaara introduced, having learned that Toph could "see" using the vibrations from the earth. Even though the ground was wooden, she should still be able to feel the vibrations, even if they were softer than when on dirt.

"Hey." she said, taking a seat on a small red cushion.

"You know, from what I've heard," Jet started, "people eat like this every night in Ba Sing Sei. I can't wait to set my eyes on that giant wall."

Gaara took a seat next to the teen and to the right of Toph and said, "Even in the greatest of cities, there are those who still struggle. Those who are unable to rise from their situation, and remain in the slums for the entirety of their lives."

Mushi looked at Gaara with a thoughtful expression before saying, "It is a beautiful city, but Gaara is right...unfortunately there will always be those who remain beggars and thieves in order to survive."

"I know," Jet began, "and I'll do everything to help them. I'm a Freedom Fighter, and we fight to help people."

"It is a noble cause." Gaara said with a nod, "but do not lose yourself through it. Stay true to your beliefs, and allow nothing to cloud them as personal experience and pain can do." The red head could see that Jet was taking in his words, though if they would affect him, was unknown. "You have been there, Mushi?" he asked curiously.

The man in question gave a grim look filled with regret and said, "Once. When I was a...different man." Even Toph could clearly hear the amount of guilt and regret in the elder man's voice.

"I've done some things in my past that I'm not proud of," Jet admitted, "but that's why I'm going to Ba Sing Sei. For a new beginning...a second chance."

"That's very noble of you." Mushi said approvingly, "I believe people can change their lives if they want to. I believe in second chances." The ending glance toward his nephew caught Gaara's eyes, and wondered what they had been through. From merely looking at Li, it was clear that he had suffered, what with the large burn-scar over his left eye, but it seemed to be something more, deeper than merely losing someone, or a home.

"I know this to be true." Gaara said, thinking about Naruto and how he continued to fight and protect to change people's opinion about him. Despite Konoha banishing him, he changed the lives and hearts of hundreds across the Elemental Nations. Some so deeply, that the respected countries cut off all ties with the Village. He took his own life as an example, since he had killed hundreds in his childhood, feeling no remorse and showed little to no mercy until he had met Naruto and decided to change himself. He had been given a second chance that day, since Naruto could have chosen to kill him, rather than show him that he _could_ change.

Mushi looked at Gaara as though he knew that he was speaking of himself, while Li kept a blank expression, as though there were some internal struggle he was fighting through.

The rest of the small meal continued with little talk, though Gaara and Toph both grew to respect Mushi greatly. He was wise, but had a very kind and grandfatherly air about him that was genuine and allowed them to relax. Near the end of their trip, Li left to look out at the edge of the boat, Jet by his side. Whatever they had said to each other, seemed to be rather personal, and neither Gaara nor Toph paid attention to it.

Once Gaara could see the other side of the lake, he excused himself and bid Jet, the two Freedom Fighters, Li, and Mushi goodbye.

"Perhaps we shall see each other again within the walls of Ba Sing Sei." the red-head said with a nod.

"Maybe, see you around Gaara, Toph. Say 'hi' to Katara for me." Jet said with a small wave, knowing that they would probably run into them again.

"It has been delightful talking to you both. If we ever see each other again, we must have tea." Mushi said with a smile that caused Gaara to return one back, albeit smaller than the one given.

"As it has been with you, Mushi. Till another time." With that said, both Gaara and Toph returned to the others, unknowingly spent the meal time talking to none other than Iroh, ex-general of the Fire Nation, and Zuko, ex-Crown Prince of the Fire Nation. When asked who they spoke with, they answered what they believed to be the truth, and they hadn't bothered to ask to meet them, so the group left the ferry without ever crossing their paths again.

Once they were off the Ferry, Suki pulled Sokka to the side and said, "Sokka, it's been really great to see you again."

"Woah, hold on..." he began a bit startled, "why does it sound like you're saying goodbye?"

"I cam along because I wanted to spend some more time with you, but now that we're on the other side, I need to get back to the other Kiyoshi Warriors."

"So you came along...just to be with me?"

With a slight blush, Suki said, "Listen...I'm really sorry about earlier..." she began talking about how she confessed her feelings for him and tried to kiss him, only for him to reveal that he had someone he loved before...but hadn't been able to protect. "We were talking and...saying things...an-"

Before she could finish, Sokka kissed her on the lips before pulling away shortly after to say, "You talk too much..." and continued to kiss her lovingly. Gaara merely noticed this with a "whatever" expression, before Toph decided to cut in.

"Hey, pinnaple-head, you gonna come over here so we can get going, or are you gonna keep sucking face?" she said with a teasing voice and smirk plastered on her face. The new couple broke apart quickly, both blushing brightly.

"Couldn't give me a minute...could you Toph?" he asked rhetorically before smiling at Suki and giving her a brief kiss. "We'll see each other soon..."

"Definitely. Once I regroup with my other Warriors, we'll head to Ba Sing Sei too. We'll see each other then." she promised before leaving to talk to the one of the guards about taking the Ferry back.

Just as the group exited the bay area they had docked in, they caught sight of Appa and the others, though the refugees they had taken over weren't seen.

"Appa!" Aang exclaimed, rushing over to his bison. "Missed you buddy."

"Hey guys!" Naruto greeted with a bright fox-like smile. "I guess Appa's faster than a Ferry, we've been waiting for you guys for a while now. Ying, Cheng, and Ling all took the train to Ba Sing Sei. We spoke with one of the guards and explained why they didn't have their passports. He was a lot nicer and let them on the train with a pass into the city. They also asked me to tell you "Thank you" since the train was about to leave and wouldn't be back for a few hours."

"Great! I'm glad they were able to make it into the city safely." Aang said with a smile.

"Come on, we should get to the Earth King as quick as we can." Sokka commanded as he got on Appa.

"Right," Aang said, waiting for everyone to get on Appa before calling out, "Appa yip-yip!"

Soon enough the group was well on their way to Ba Sing Sei, finally relaxing as everything would be straightforward from here on in. As soon as they saw the wall, the entire group, save for Toph who unfortunately couldn't see, gasped in awe at the sight. It was ridiculously high, and both Gaara and Naruto could say they had never seen such a sight in all their travels. It was truly an architectural masterpiece, and both shinobi could easily understand why it's called the "Impenetrable City."

But their awe was short lived, since Aang gasped at another sight to the left of the wall, though rather than awe, it was in shock and fear.

Looking to the left, the group caught sight of a huge drill, making it's way slowly to the wall, intent on entering the city. No one had to wonder, even with the Fire Nation insignia on the top of the machine, that it was they who were trying to invade the only untouched city in this near 100 year war.

"The meeting with the Earth King will have to wait." Naruto said standing as he stared at the Drill.

Things just couldn't be simple, could they?

* * *

A/N: I also know that the ferry that Zuko, Iroh, and the other Freedom Fighters boarded was the first one to leave in the episode and therefore couldn't be the one Gaara and the others boarded, but I decided that they arrived there earlier than in the show since they didn't have a nearly 9 month pregnant woman slowing them down, and therefore allowing them to board the same one.

P.S: I'm making this slightly more graphic then what the show had displayed. I hope I'm making it slightly more realistic, since I believe those who would be taking the Ferry would be the most affected by the war. Of course there _are_ those who are better off, but all of them lost their homes, nearly all of their belongings since they can't take everything they owned but the bare essentials, and traveling must cost a pretty penny, so this is how I imagine most of the refugees would look like. I'm sorry if this bothers anyone, but this is how I chose to portray it.


End file.
